Why raw food diet followed by Shalini Passi of Netflix’s ‘Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives’ has its benefits and drawbacks too?

Food for Netflix’s Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives fame Shalini Passi is not an important part of her life. It is just for is for sustenance, not for taste. 49-year-old Shalini takes her fitness very seriously.

Shalini mentioned in one of her interviews that she did not want to be a burden on anyone, which prompted her to take certain steps to maintain the vitality of a 20-year-old. “I started manifesting, exercising and strength training.” Food for her is like a fuel to keep going and continue with her work and chores throughout the day and she doesn’t indulge in good food.

Shalin i made a revelation that previously she limited her raw food consumption till a certain timing, which she later extended. She said, “I take my meals at room temperature, because I sort of gave up that taste, that food part… to be able to focus on my work, because sometimes food becomes a hindrance. We wait for our lunch time and we waste half-an-hour and then we are waiting for dinner. So, for me food is for sustenance, not for taste.”

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Let us find out the benefits of raw food diet and its drawbacks.

Benefits of raw food diet

Delhi based Nutritionist Kavita Devgan says, “The benefits of eating raw foods are huge: more nutrients, detoxing of the body, clearing up of allergies, energy gain, immunity and memory boost, cutting of blood pressure, arthritis and diabetes risks, and yes losing weight too as most of the foods we eat raw tend to be low in calories, fat, and sodium, and high in fibre.”

She further explains that consciously eating rawer fruit and vegetables does help you to achieve your five-a-day, and score lots of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Raw foods also help alkalise the body, reduce acidity and cut inflammation - which helps tame our weight.

Why we need to be careful with raw food diet?

But any extreme diet is not good for health and we need to be careful. Kavita Devgan says, “One should not convert to a totally raw food diet too as then it may become a challenge score enough protein, vitamin B12 and iron. These nutrients are typically found in foods that can’t be eaten raw, such as beans, whole grains, and lean proteins. So one may run low on many essential nutrients, and may need to take vitamin supplements to make up for any gaps in your diet.”

 While our body absorbs some nutrients, like vitamin C better from raw food because they’re easily destroyed with cooking.

 How cooking enhances nutrients?

Any extreme diet is not sustainable and we all know that. Cooking actually enhances some nutrients like beta carotene and lycopene. For example, nutrient-dense spinach packs a lot of of lutein and cooking these greens helps your body better absorb lutein.

Kavita Devgan says, “Lycopene in tomatoes actually becomes more available on cooking. Some cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, mustard greens contain goitrogen compounds, which in excess can block thyroid function and contribute to hypothyroidism, but these are mostly deactivated by heat and cooking.”

Not all foods can be eaten raw. Devgan explains, that some foods become more digestible after cooking because the fibrous portion is broken down, making digestion in the gut easier. If we’re unable to digest the vitamins and minerals in foods, we risk nutrient deficiencies and other illnesses.

Cooking food has a major advantage – it protects us from food borne pathogens. So if you eat only raw then the risk of food poisoning may go up, especially if your immune system is suspect.